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In Progress

Geothermal at President's House

The President’s House is provided to the University of Illinois President and their family. This home is used as a family home and for formal events each year including the President’s and Chancellor’s Reception following campus-wide graduation for graduates, candidates, and their families. This building is maintained by Facilities & Services with power supplied through the campus grid. A feasibility study for geothermal installation was completed. This site is a good candidate for geothermal energy.

Use Clean Power

The iCAP 2020 objective 2.3.1 is to "Use at least 140,000 MWh/year of clean power by FY25." This objective is about clean power, which is different from clean thermal energy. The responsible campus unit for championing this objective is F&S.

As of 2020, there are three types of clean power options being pursued or used on campus.

Prairie Restoration at Florida & Orchard

The University has worked to restore the 2.7-acre no-mow zone at the southwest corner of Florida Avenue and Orchard Street, as one of the campus’ first prairie plantings.  This restoration is designed to educate, beautify, and inspire. It will serve as a highly visible public symbol of our commitments to (1) the historic ecological legacy and the native species once found in this complex ecosystem and (2) campus-wide efforts toward sustainability and carbon neutral practices.

Sustainability in Study Abroad

Study abroad programs are an integral part of the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign’s education, allowing students to gain experience in a variety of fields. The integration of sustainability into the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign’s study abroad programs will allow students to gain firsthand experience with sustainability concepts and apply their learning in their respective fields. The University of Illinois Urbana Champaign has established the Illinois Abroad Council Steering Committee (IACSC) to integrate sustainability into the study abroad curriculum.

Toted

Toted aims to combat textile and plastic waste by collecting fabric scraps and plastic bags from the Champaign-Urbana community. Our team will then create tote bags using the fabric scraps, and line the inside of these bags with plastic, making the tote bag waterproof. Toted intends to use the plastic bags collected by iCAP to create the waterproof lining for our products.

Preventing window-strike bird fatalities with energy efficient window decals

According to a recent study published in Science this past year, nearly one quarter of North America’s total migratory bird population has been lost since 1970 (doi: 10.1126/science.aaw1313). Window strikes are the second leading cause of death of migratory birds, accounting for about 500-900 million deaths each year. Champaign-Urbana, IL is situated along the Mississippi Flyway, a major migratory route, making it a crucial highly trafficked waypoint for migrating birds.

Tomato Processing and Packaging

The goal of the Illinois Sustainable Food Project (ISFP) is to further collaboration between the production activities of the Sustainable Student Farm (SSF); the teaching, research, and outreach activities at the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition Pilot Processing Plant (FSHN-PPP); and University Housing Dining Services' goal of increasing procurement of locally grown foods. This project supported the procurement of key equipment necessary for processing tomatoes and other produce into purees and sauces at large scale for use in commercial food applications. 

Provide incentives for sustainability education

Several opportunities have been identified to integrate sustainability into the University’s educational mission, including a preliminary set of learning outcomes requiring each graduating student to obtain a core competency on sustainability. These competencies, such as knowledge of how food, water, energy, and material goods affect human societies and ecosystems, are designed to prepare students for leadership roles as society prepares for the climate challenge.

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